Elder Wands
by AugustDay
Summary: There is only one thing that Albus believes in: Power. Scorpius Malfoy doesn't know what he believes in. But, the joint pursuit of the recreation of the most powerful wand of all time will bring these two men together. SLASH.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Well, this is my first multi-chapter fic. If you've read my oneshots, I don't think this will be quite as dark. But... I'm sure it will be.

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Scorpius Malfoy's first skill was sneering. He was really quite good at it and had in fact been a practitioner of the art of sneering ever since his father and his mother had divorced when he was five. This was simply because everyone had decided that not only did Scorpius need to be pitied for his… ahem, antecedents but also now because his parents clearly had never truly cared for each other. His father, Scorpius liked to think, would be proud of his magnificent sneer as Draco could also sneer with some fantastic talent.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that by the time Scorpius was preparing to begin his fifth year at Hogwarts, he was truly a world-class sneerer.

He was browsing through the bookstore. It was a dusty and dingy place but Scorpius loved it. After all, when in a bookstore there was very little to be judged but the quality of the book one was reading. And Scorpius had read quite enough books to be able to judge the ability of a book. He was taking a fantastic course load this year; all OWL levels of Potions, Arithmancy, Ancient Ruins, Herbology, and History of Magic. He didn't have to take classes with loads of spell casting. Not, mind you, because he was bad at that sort of thing. He wasn't bad at much if you didn't count general athletics. Scorpius was pants at anything that required coordination.

His second skill, Scorpius supposed, should have been learning how to walk like a Malfoy. But, as Draco would say, Scorpius could walk as a Greengrass. Which was an insult. Scorpius knew this because of the wonderful sneer that his father would say it with.

"If you don't mind, I need to pick up that book there."

Scorpius jolted out of his thoughts about his lack of skill walking and came face to face with one Albus Severus Potter.

It wasn't quite face to face as much as face to chest seeing as Albus was a quite a bit taller than Scorpius.

"Ah, Albus. Sure." Scorpius said. But, there wasn't much place for Scorpius to go. The book aisle was thin and packed far too thickly with books.

"Here let me just hand it to you." Scorpius said, and he picked up the book Albus had indicated and handed it to the other man.

Scorpius hoped it wasn't to presumptuous to say that he and Albus were men. After all they were fifteen, only two years from being full adults. So, he supposed that made them men. Despite the fact that Scorpius wasn't sure he felt like a man. He knew that he wasn't a boy. And he was never a guy.

"I suppose I'll be seeing you in this class then." Albus said. He held up the book again. It was the supplemental book for the History of Magic OWL course.

"Didn't expect that you'd be taking this class. You are more of the wand-waving sort of wizard." Scorpius said. His voice held a sneer in his voice and Scorpius was grateful. It was generally curious that Albus would be taking the course. And as a Ravenclaw, Scorpius was always one to follow up on his curiosities.

And yes, Ravenclaw. His father and grandfather had yet to completely accept the shame, while his grandmother, Narcissa, had taken him out to Hogsmeade and told him that she had nearly been placed in Ravenclaw and there was nothing to be ashamed about. There were times that Scorpius adored his grandmother and abhorred his father and grandfather. That had been one of those times.

His maternal line however had little to react to because Scorpius was quite sure they had Obliviated themselves of memories of him.

"Oh don't worry, I'm taking Potions, DADA, Charms, and Herbology also. Plenty of wand-waving." Albus said. He wasn't smiling but his voice sounded like a chuckle and Scorpius could feel his cheeks turning red.

"Ah, well, then I'll see you at Hogwarts." Scorpius said. This was how he dealt with Albus Potter. Whenever his cheeks turned red- he would never acknowledge blushing- he would cut off the conversation. And Albus would always accept because, Scorpius was sure, Albus had learned the pattern.

One would expect it of a sneaky Slytherin.

Yes, Albus Severus Potter was a Slytherin. A Potter was a Slytherin. It had made quite the headlines. But, people had come to accept it. After all, there had been a Weasley sorted into Slytherin not two years prior. Louis Weasley, child of Bill and Fleur Weasley, had made headlines with his entrance into Slytherin. And people had nearly collapsed when Lily Potter, the third and final offspring of Harry and Ginny Potter, had been sorted into Ravenclaw. The only Gryffindor offspring of Harry and Ginny had in fact been their eldest. But three years had passed since Lily's upheaval of social expectations and so, society had recovered from the shock and awe of the revelation of a Slytherin Potter.

"See you." Albus said, strolling away. He sounded like he had a wicked grin on his face. Scorpius refused to look because he knew that Albus would certainly notice. It was hardly a secret to Scorpius that he had some sort of sexual attraction to the other boy. Scorpius liked to analyze information, even when that information was his emotions towards another. It wasn't like the two of them didn't have a relationship but it wasn't a friendship and they weren't enemies and while Scorpius knew he had a terrific crush on the other he wasn't a Gryffindor for a reason. Just because he knew facts and analyzed his emotions didn't mean he knew what to do. It rather meant he was terrified and immovable.

The real problem was that it seemed that lately, as in the end of the last year at Hogwarts, Albus had somehow discovered Scorpius. It seemed that the other man had really never quite thought about Scorpius as an actual person until last year.

And Scorpius knew from years of experience living with his paternal family that Slytherins were experts at getting someone to do what they wanted. So Scorpius, being stubborn, had simply decided that he would treat Albus in no way special and would simply not do anything. Because that was masterful plan.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Albus Potter's first skill was smiling. He had practiced his smile from a young age. He'd discovered the power of smiling when he was small child. His parent's had been having one of their silent vicious fights when his grandmother had come to visit. Molly was a wonderful grandmother but she was horrendous at realizing when her son-in-law and daughter were fighting. But his parents had smiled and laughed and Molly had left none the wiser. It wasn't that they had reconciled. Immeaditely after the visit, the fight was resumed with perhaps more viciousness. Albus had decided that smiling was perhaps the most powerful bit of magic he would ever discover.

Albus was just as good a smiler as his mother. Ginny could smile with the greatest charm and grace no matter the situation while his father, Harry, was actually quite good at a thoughtful frown.

And so when he walked away from Scorpius Malfoy, he was fuming and smiling. He'd heard about the other boy quite a bit. Last spring break, his cousin Louis had invited Blanche Zabini to accompany him on the annual Potter-Weasley spring vacation. And so while Albus had wanted to go swimming in the Mediterranean and perhaps convince some girls to entertain him, he had been forced to listen to Zabini prattle on about his classmates.

From the majority of it, Albus had decided that Ravenclaws were in general a miserable bunch of people. With one exception, Scorpius Malfoy.

See from the way Zabini talked about the other boy, Albus had quickly come to believe that Scorpius was perhaps an interesting person; quiet, bookish, and skilled beyond most powerful and grown wizards. This was interesting in and of itself to Albus because Albus didn't believe that there were many interesting people in the world.

As he stomped away from Scorpius, Albus wondered if there was actually anything there. Yes, the boy was intelligent and witty. But, he was dismissive. And Albus hated that. If anything, he wanted to be acknowledged. And he normally was. After all, he was the top of his class, attractive if the swoons of others meant anything, the Keeper for the Slytherins and had yet to let a point be scored on him in the past three years, and he knew, headed for entirely important things.

And Scorpius dismissed him. In every conversation. Infuriating.

"What's got you so pissed? You're smiling so hard that your face might crack." It was Christopher Nott. Albus nodded to him and said, "That boy."

Christopher nodded. He knew about Albus' recent focus on Scorpius and detested the other boy for it. After all, Christopher had listened to Albus' rants on what made a person interesting and what made them dull. And he knew that Albus would not stop speaking about Scorpius until Scorpius was neatly arranged into the interesting box or the dull and therefor useful box. It was Christopher's fortune to be Albus' closest friend and his misfortune as such to be obligated to listen to the musings of the intelligent man.

"Mincie and I are going to get ice cream you should come." Christopher said. Albus nodded, grateful for the distraction. And he knew it was a distraction. He paid for his book and then walked out with Christopher to go meet the other boy's girlfriend.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Scorpius sat in his room and ate his dinner. The Malfoy family had not dined together in years and so Scorpius was more than used to eating alone and staring at the wall. He had had all of the portraits removed from his walls over the year. No need to actually hear the disapproval that his family felt about his existence.

Stabbing his food violently, Scorpius left his fork victoriously standing in his mashed potatoes.

He got up and moved about his large room. It was far too big for him and everything was horrendously quiet. On his wall his calendar was enlarged and pinned up with each day marking a countdown to the beginning of Hogwarts. Each day until his departure was slashed out violently. As if Scorpius hated every moment of his being home.

In actuality, it wasn't like Scorpius hated every moment of being home.

It was just the majority of the moments he was home that he hated.

He wanted to be back in Hogwarts with his friends. He could nearly see them all and how they would arrange themselves. Rose and Lorcan would sit back to back while Lysander sat across from Lorcan. The twins would be debating some trivial point about Astronomy and Blanche would sit and chuckle at each well-phrased argument. And Scorpius could see himself lying on his stomach near them flipping through his Ancient Ruins book.

It was far to jarring to realize that he was still in his room at home and that it would be some time before he was back in the warm embrace of Ravenclaw and away from the cold of his family. But, Scorpius had very little that he could do to change that. So, he walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out his most recent interest, time turners and their creation, and then in front of his fireplace he lay on his stomach and began to read. He hummed steadily to himself and until he was done reading nearly four hours later he was content.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Harry and Ginny were fighting. It was clear from the way the food was cooked. Albus stared at his plate and wondered when they would divorce. The fights had been going on since Albus could remember. In the deepest part of his mind he knew that he and his siblings were all attempts to keep a fractured marriage from collapsing.

He decided to refuse to think about it.

Albus began silently eating the meal in front of him. James was doing the same. Lily however was talking delightedly about how she looked forward to seeing Hugo Weasley again and how the start of Hogwarts was so close and everything, Albus was sure, looked wonderful for Lily who perpetually looked at life through a rose-colored glass. His father was frowning at his plate and Ginny was smiling engagingly at her daughter.

Albus wanted to puke.

It was disgusting, his parents representation of love.

They had the nerve to lecture him on his hedonistic lifestyle when they could barely agree whether the weather was slightly cloudy or nearly sunny.

"I'm done. I'll see you all later—don't disturb me I'll be in my room." Albus said. It was sudden and different from the flow of the conversation thus far, but Albus didn't much care.

He scraped off most of his dinner into the garbage and left his plate near the sink. The cleaning spells would take care of the mess. It wasn't like Albus was restless to leave to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was just as terrifically boring as home was. But both being home and being at Hogwarts were required by law. It was when he turned seventeen that Albus knew he would finally be free.

Sighing, he entered his room. He locked the door behind him and walked straight to his desk. On it, with the page neatly marked, sat a book that speculated on the secretive craft of wands and about the most important wand—The Elder Wand. A smile creeping onto his face, Albus gave the book a loving stroke and sat down to start reading.

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><p>Alright then.<p>

Let me know what you think. :) And thank you in advance for any reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. I'd like to get reviews but you all must be a silent bunch. :) enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

The worst thing about the rain was that all the worms emerged from the ground. It was hard for Scorpius to walk into King's Cross with his father and keep from stepping on the little writhing things. He knew that it would be easier to just step on the damn things and walk without caring. But he couldn't help but let the more fantastical part of himself believe that those worms were just representations of him and how easily he could be crushed.

"Walk with your head up, boy. A Malfoy should be proud in the world. You look like some damn Greengrass." Draco said, sneering at his son. Scorpius wondered when his father had stopped comparing things he found distasteful to muggleborns and when he had started referring to those things as being some a Greengrass would do.

"Yes, Father." Scorpius said. He started walking proudly his eyes clearly watching the world in front of him.

Worms be damned.

Scorpius wondered if his father would disown him and take his chances with another pureblood to produce a better Malfoy heir. Scorpius wondered if he would care if that happened.

They were soon enough standing on Platform 9¾. Scorpius concealed his absolute excitement at seeing the train. He also concealed his scorn for his mother. She did not stand far from the entrance to the Platform. When she had come to send him off his first and second year at Hogwarts she had desperately looked for him. Now she stood there without seeming to recognize anything around her.

"Ms. Greengrass." Draco said. His voice was absolutely neutral.

"Mr. Malfoy." Astoria said. Then she looked at him and with a cool nod, said, "Son."

"Mother." Scorpius wondered if he were to appear in front of her missing limbs and with a hole through her stomach if she would react any differently. He wasn't sure she still knew his name was Scorpius for all she ever called him was Son.

"I trust you have all your supplies for the year?" She said.

"Of, course I have provided for my son. Ms. Greengrass." Draco said. Scorpius stood there. They would continue on with this for at least ten minutes. With his mother asking him a question and with his father replying for him. After ten minutes Scorpius knew he would be able to kiss his mother's cheek and give his father a handshake and then he would be blissfully gone from his family until the next break.

He let his eyes wander for the remaining ten minutes.

He briefly made eye contact with Lorcan and Lysander. The twins smiled beatifically at him and Scorpius coolly nodded. He wanted to smile but he didn't want his mother or his father to think he was engaged in their petty sparring match.

Scorpius watched the parents of the first year student's check and double check and then triple check their children's belongings. Some of the more zealous parent's checked a fourth and fifth time. The first year's happily protested; eager to be annoyed by their parents so they didn't have to face their own fears. They all looked so happy and worried and wonderfully like a family that Scorpius had to violently push down his envy.

It simply wouldn't do to care about the fact that those miserable runts had something that Scorpius would never feel.

Scorpius could feel someone staring at him. Glancing over he saw and was caught in the gaze of one Albus Potter staring directly at him. He wasn't smiling at Scorpius but the gaze was certainly intense. Feeling an embarrassing warmth start in his heart and spread up to what felt like his scalp, Scorpius barely contained the smile he wanted to give Albus and instead turned sharply back to focus on his parents.

Both Draco and Astoria did a fantastic job of exhibiting a childlike pettiness.

"Father. Mother. I'm afraid I must board the train. I will see you both soon." Scorpius said. He didn't bother to care that he was probably interrupting them. On normal occasions Draco would have reprimanded him for being rude; but this was not a normal occasion.

"Yes, yes. Scorpius, I assume that you will be sending me your weekly owl." Draco said. Scorpius smiled. It was a cold and thin smile and Scorpius thought it suited his face perfectly.

"Of course, Father."

"I hope you do well this year, as you always do, Son." His mother said. Scorpius gave her a cool nod. He then stepped forward and kissed her on her cheek. Her cheek was cold, thin, and heavily covered in some sort of concealer. As always. Turning, he shook his father's hand.

He then walked away his school supplies trailing after him.

It didn't take him long to board the train and find Blanche Zabini. He was greeted warmly by his friend and sat down to begin reading one of his many books. Blanche was already heavily engaged in conversation with Louis Weasley. By the time the train was pulling out of the station Lysander had joined them. He had briefly explained that his brother, Lorcan, and Rose Weasley, his brother's girlfriend, were sitting with Hugo Weasley and Lily Potter.

Scorpius didn't much mind the other three boys in the cabin. He was already quite close with Blanche and Lysander; Louis wasn't of much interest to Scorpius beyond the fact that he was a Weasley and in Slytherin. He did mind however when after a half hour of the train speeding along, their cabin opened and an unmistakable voice said, "Louis! There you are. I've been looking for you."

Scorpius looked up to see Albus Potter. Thankfully the other boy was not looking at Scorpius and was in fact beaming at his friend.

"Albus. I would've thought you'd be with Christopher." Louis said. His voice was deadpan but his was clearly amused by Albus. Scorpius was still watching Albus. His eyes traced the man's profile and Scorpius decided that there was little as aesthetically pleasing as Albus Potter's profile. Feeling the familiar blush—well it wasn't a blush, mind you, but it was entirely un-Malfoy and un-Scorpius—Scorpius determinedly focused on his book.

"That boy is far too interested in snogging Mincie to provide any worthwhile conversation. So, I'd thought I'd come by to see if you have anything better to offer." Albus said. And with that he happily sat down to nominally engage in conversation with Louis and Blanche.

Scorpius could not help but notice that he sat directly across from him. Legs splayed in an entirely alpha male way.

Disgusting.

Attractive.

Extremely attractive.

Scorpius decided that his book desperately needed his attention.

He was talented and determined enough to last ten minutes before looking about the cabin again. Lysander was watching the scenery roll pass the train. It looked like the boy was day dreaming and Scorpius was rather sure that that was precisely what the boy was doing. The other three boys were engaged deeply in conversation. Feeling secure, Scorpius decided to watch and listen to their conversation.

He did not want to acknowledge that he only felt secure because he was certain that Albus was barely heeding him. Because it was simply unacceptable for a Malfoy, or really a Scorpius, to feel that insecure about someone that he hardly knew.

The three men were engaged in deep conversation about the final battle between Voldemort and Harry Potter. They were focused on debating the Elder Wand. Both Blanche and Louis seemed convinced that the Elder Wand was not a myth and had in fact been present in the final battle. But Albus seemed to not believe that at all. From the wicked and mischievous glint in his eye, Scorpius knew that the other boy was simply playing Devil's Advocate. He wondered if the other boys knew that.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Albus was not entirely engaged in the debate with his friend and Blanche Zabini. He could keep the other two endlessly entertained with circular argumentation. What did amuse him was that Scorpius had slowly and completely relaxed when he didn't think that Albus was paying him any attention. The other boy even seemed to be observing his conversation with the others and Albus could feel each time that Scorpius looked at him.

Seemed his hunch was right.

He couldn't directly engage the boy without it being put to a stop by said boy. But, if he was around Scorpius for long enough the other would relax and would certainly notice him.

"I'm just saying, Albus, your father is one of the most powerful wizards of our time and Voldemort was near his equal. The Elder Wand would surely be caught between the two of them in any sort of battle." Blanche said. Albus smiled at the other boy. It was a reassuring smile but slightly condescending. Albus didn't have to be nice simply because Louis was friends with Blanche.

"Yeah, but you are assuming the very existence of such a wand. The Elder Wand—actually all the Deathly Hallows are all stuff of myth. There is very little reason to believe that there is really anything there." Albus said. It's not that he wasn't interested in the Elder Wand. Albus thought he was probably far more interested in the Elder Wand than the other two boys. He knew from his father's wartime stories, at least when his mother didn't prevent the stories, that the Elder Wand did exist. He had yet to find out where it was though. But he was sure that his father was the current master of the Elder Wand.

"Scorpius? A little help here." Blanche said, turning to the smaller man. Both Louis and Albus turned to look at Scorpius also. Albus smirked when he saw that the other boy had been looking at him when Blanche had called their attention to him.

Scorpius looked away and cleared his throat.

"Well, honestly, I'm not sure such whether it really matters or not." Scorpius said. Albus, and so it seemed were the other two men, was intrigued by the answer. They all leaned forward focusing intensely on the small man.

Scorpius looked at each other them. A small blush of embarrassment was clear on his face. Scorpius evidently did not like to be focused on.

"I mean, it is doubtable whether or not the Elder Wand truly exists. Just like Albus said." Scorpius continued. He did not look at Albus when he acknowledged him, which briefly annoyed Albus.

"But, it can be argued that if there was a wand that was created to be completely attuned to a very powerful wizard then it would certainly live up to the grandeur of the Elder Wand. Or, I guess, it could be completely attuned to a very powerful witch. Those exist also." Scorpius said. It was clear that the other boy was finished voicing his opinion.

"And how do you know that?" Albus said. His voice was low and focused and he knew that it would make the other boy acknowledge him. Scorpius looked him briefly in the eyes, blinked, and then seemed to stare at Albus's ear.

"I've done a little reading on wandlore. It's quite fascinating." Scorpius said.

"Well, there you have it. Clearly a wand powerful enough to be the Elder Wand would have been present at the battle between your dad and Voldemort." Blanche said. He laughed and leaned back into his seat. Louis grunted an agreement and sat back also. Albus smiled and said, "Well then, perhaps there were two wands powerful enough to be the Elder Wand at that battle."

His statement caused the other two wizards to groan and laugh. Scorpius seemed sure that his bit was done and he curled back up with his book like some sort of cat.

Albus smiled internally.

He knew that he was correct then. Scorpius was an interesting wizard and therefor an intelligent wizard. Albus would be getting to know the other wizard; he had plans for his future and he wanted all the interesting wizards he could find to be around him. But that would all happen soon enough.

"Ah, look, we are nearly to Hogwarts." Lysander said. It was the first time during the trip that the dreamy eyed boy had spoken.

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><p>Well, that's chapter 2. Hope you all liked it and I would love it if y'all reviewed.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Enjoy. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

One morning Scorpius and his father had been sharing breakfast together. The overwhelming silence was disturbed by the rustle of the Daily Prophet as Draco read and the spreading of butter and honey across a piece of toast by Scorpius.

Scorpius had stared at his piece of toast and then his delicate, empty tea cup and then finally his father. He was gathering his courage.

"Father."

"Scorpius." Draco said. He was still staring at the morning paper but the fact that he had acknowledged Scorpius meant the boy was allowed to continue speaking.

Scorpius paused and stared at the space between his plate and his butter knife. He grimaced as he realized that he had left the butter knife to sit on the careful cream table cloth. But he had to continue, because it wasn't often that Lucius or Narcissa didn't join for breakfast and Scorpius knew—he just knew—that he would not be permitted this question with his grandparents around.

"Why…" Scorpius paused. Draco didn't snap at him which spoke of his patience with his son. He had even stopped pretending to ignore Scorpius and had turned just his head to look at his son.

It wasn't often that Scorpius had to look his father in the eye.

It was terrifying. His father's eyes were almost always flat with an indescribable amount of anger. Scorpius knew that this was not directed at him, but it was all very terrifying just the same.

"Why do you tell me never to lie?" Scorpius finally asked.

Draco's lips thinly parted and Scorpius thought for a moment that his father would hiss. A highly undignified action. But no, Draco was simply preparing to take a sip of his own tea.

Draco turned his entire attention to Scorpius. Scorpius hoped that this wasn't one of those questions that he should have just privately worried about and never had asked. Because his father just stared at Scorpius, cold and assessing his son, while sipping his tea.

With a small and unusual sound, that may have been a clearing of a throat but sounded more like the clatter of tea cup against the saucer, Draco sat his tea cup back down.

"Because I was taught to lie. And if you practice always telling the truth but never revealing the truth then you will only be smarter than those around you." Draco said. And then he turned away from his son and started to read the Daily Prophet again.

Scorpius would remember that his father's hand had shook when he had set down the cup of tea and that what why he had heard some noise. He would remember that Draco had been unusually kind to Scorpius for the next week as if he was somehow pleased with his son. And he would think that there was something behind the first statement that meant something other than what he had initially thought. And Scorpius could ask, he supposed, but he knew—it was again one of those things that he just knew—that his father would never answer that question.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"You don't mind if I sit here, I suppose?" Albus said. Scorpius thought that he very much would mind and Albus should probably go sit somewhere else. But the other boy was already laying out his Herbology supplies and sitting and then sat and looked at Scorpius for some sort of approval.

"By all means make yourself comfortable." Scorpius said icily. He had three classes with Albus; Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic. Albus had sat with Scorpius during History of Magic and had taken the bench next to him in Potions. He supposed this was because Lucy Weasley had made sure to be Potions partner and also Christopher Nott, Albus's closest confidante, was in the class also.

Albus gave a small chuckle and said, "You know, we will be getting to be friends this year. So you should learn to be nicer to me."

"You need a better way of convincing me to be your friend than persistence." Scorpius said. He was in control enough to say it with the barest hint of hate lacing his voice and with a magnificent glare directed directly at Albus.

Albus simply beamed at him. Scorpius was beginning to believe that the other boy had somehow learned to smile at the most inappropriate moments. Under normal circumstances a normal person would not smile so brilliantly at another person who seemed to find them so distasteful. From this Scorpius surmised that Albus Potter was not normal. Scorpius had already known that however.

"I'll go get our supplies. We're cultivating strands of Asphodel and Wormwood. How much do you want to bet that we'll be brewing Draught of Living Death with these ingredients?" The larger man walked away.

If he doesn't want my answer, Scorpius thought watching Albus walk away, he shouldn't ask me questions. A small portion of him was delighted that the other boy had come to the same conclusion as Scorpius. He shoved that small portion to the bottom of his emotions until it was forgotten. It wasn't often that courses overlapped at Hogwarts but occasionally both Herbology and Potions did. It was likely that Professor Slughorn and Professor Longbottom would ask the students in both OWL level classes to make a potion using supplies that the student had raised. It was quite difficult to do well and really was an indicator of how skilled the student truly was.

"If they do ask the combined students to make a potion using our materials and our materials aren't of high quality then I will blame you when I write my report for Slughorn." Scorpius said. He didn't look at the other man but he knew that Albus was back because the other boy had set their supplies on the table.

"That's assuming that you can make a high quality Potion." Albus said. He said it without a hint of cruelty and instead sounded immensely amused. Scorpius hated that he amused the other man. He wasn't sure what he wanted Albus to feel about him but he didn't want to be some petulant curiosity that the boy played with and then forgot. Now that Albus had for some reason clearly focused on him, Scorpius was planning on keeping his own inconvenient reactions to Albus's attention silent, until he could drive the other boy away. His father may have raised him to tell the truth, but that didn't mean Scorpius had to express the truth without being asked.

"Hmm. We should get started. Professor Longbottom may be a good friend of my father but he has no mercy when students don't respect his field."

Scorpius wondered briefly why Albus referred to his father as father. He would have assumed that the Potter's were informal enough to adopt dad to refer to a father. Scorpius then decided that he should not wonder about Albus. There was no need to give Albus a bigger portion of his life than the one the other man had simply decided to take.

The two started working quietly. It was peaceful but Scorpius was on edge. He supposed he was always on edge around Albus. He figured that it was because he was so attracted to the other boy and because he was sure that if Albus pushed him correctly Scorpius wouldn't be able to keep any sort of semblance of control of his emotions.

Scorpius hated it.

"You know, secretly, I think you rather like me." Albus said.

"You can surely think and believe whatever you want about me." Scorpius said. It was the truth and Scorpius wouldn't reply any other way. He managed to even still his slightly panicked reaction because he remembered that it was more than likely that Albus- and most other boys at Hogwarts- was distressingly straight. And a distressingly straight boy would not think that the word like could have more than one meaning to another boy. Scorpius packed the fertilizer harshly around the base of the Asphodel. His eyes were half closed but he looked up at Albus through his eyelashes to see the other boy's reaction. Albus was half frowning and glaring at the Wormwood in front of him.

Scorpius wondered what was wrong with him that he found Albus frowning far more attractive than Albus smiling.

"True. I can think whatever I want about you. But, I'd rather actually know you. Stubborn child."

"I am not a child. I'm the same age as you." Scorpius said glaring up at the other man. Albus raised an eyebrow and chuckling said, "I don't know, you still seem to have the body of a child." And to prove his point, Albus reached around Scorpius to help adjust the plants. Scorpius wished that he wasn't so aware of Albus standing behind him. Scorpius just wished that he wasn't so aware of Albus in general. It would make ignoring him significantly easier.

They didn't much talk beyond that for the rest of the lesson and when it came time to leave, Scorpius left. Albus lingered.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It had been the annual celebration of the defeat of Voldemort at the Ministry when Albus had seen his mother drunk for the first and last time. He was six and he had seen other people drunk, his various uncles mostly. But he had never seen his mother drunk and it was a horrible site to behold.

It wasn't that Ginny was stupidly drunk. She was just drunk enough to be clearly vicious to Harry.

Albus had sat on a bench between his brother and his sister and they had both been clasping his hands with strength uncommon for children. He wondered if it was because they knew that this was not supposed to be how celebrations went. He wondered if Lily and James had ever seen Ginny drunk before.

Sitting there, hold the hands of his younger sister and older brother Albus felt like he was the person protecting them from the worried and pitying looks from the elderly wizards that knew who the three children were.

Albus glared.

He glared well because he knew how to.

And he knew how to glare because he had lived through quite a lot of sickeningly silent family dinners.

The time that he sat there stretched into eternity.

Harry had finally marched over with Ginny. Her arm was looped through his elbow and they looked for entirely like they actually liked each other. If not for the look on their faces. Albus glared at his parents because Lily had her head buried in his shoulder and James was staring at his other hand as if there were answers there.

"We're going home." His father had said quietly. He made eye contact with Albus and flinched. Albus relished it.

He knew this was not supposed to be how things were.

And he could blame his father.

And Harry, Albus knew—because sometimes Albus just knew things—that Harry would accept it. Harry had developed the air of a man who would take anything from anyone and not flinch or complain until he was by himself. A perfect outlet for an angry son.

Later that night when Albus was supposed to have been asleep his mother wandered into his and James' room. She had giggled and kissed each boys head.

She had whispered in their ears.

You know, she had said, your father was the one to name you and James. I made him let me name Lily because he would've just kept naming his children after dead fucks.

And after she had walked out of the room and after Albus had stopped wandering what the word fuck meant, he had wondered what it meant that he was named after dead people. He decided not to care.

Albus would remember that it was the first time he had purely hated his mother. He would remember that his father had prepared a Hang-Over potion for his mother, served her breakfast in bed and for the next week his family had been lovely. And he would re-examine his mother's slurred statement and come to believe that while his brother had been born to carry the names of two intelligent trouble-makers, Albus had been shackled with the names of two troubled world shakers. He could never decide who had gotten the better deal.

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><p>And, there you go, Chapter 3. Thank you to my one reviewer, ekbellatrix, it was very much appreciated. I think this time I will hope for perhaps... two reviews? :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Enjoy. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

It was a beautiful day when Scorpius trudged down the path towards Hogsmeade. He had received a letter from his grandmother, Narcissa, to meet her this Saturday at Madame Puddifoot's. Scorpius was grateful that this was not a Hogsmeade weekend for all of Hogwarts—rather the majority of students were at the Quidditch game. It was Slytherin against Gryffindor.

Albus Potter against James Potter.

Scorpius scowled and kicked some leaves and resolved to not think about the Potter family for at least the next hour. Not that it was easy. Albus had resolutely inserted himself into Scorpius's life over the past month and a half. He was charming and talkative during Herbology, had somehow convinced Lucy and Christopher that the four students would be better served working on Potions reports together out of class, and during History of Magic would sit next to Scorpius and sketch little magical cartoons of Binns that would spout jokes about the subject material. He had become a regular visitor with Louis Weasley to Ravenclaw.

Scorpius was having a difficult time trying to push the boy away when his friend group had readily accepted Albus.

Scorpius shoved his thoughts from the top of his mind as he pushed the front door of Madame Puddifoot's open. The bell tinkered wistfully as he entered the shop. Scorpius sneered immediately. It wasn't that he'd never been to Puddifoot's before but he had never adjusted to the inundation of sugar sweetness that the place exuded. His grandmother looked out of place. She wore a charcoal grey robe with nearly red black gloves and delicate diamond studs in her ears.

She always chose to meet Scorpius at Puddifoot's which Scorpius found a mystery.

"Scorpius." She said, rising and faintly smiling, "You look vibrantly healthy. So much like your grandfather when he was your age." Scorpius smiled and kissed his grandmother's gracefully extended hand. She terrified Scorpius less than any other family members of his.

"Grandmother, you look radiant." He replied. They sat and waited silently for one of the tiny little doll-like servers to come get their orders. His grandmother ordered some sort of exotic sounding tea for the both of them. There were some older couples in the place that looked at the pair curiously. Scorpius supposed that normally he and his grandmother would be talking but, Scorpius knew his grandmother well enough to know that the conversation would be precise and beautiful.

"Over Christmas break your father has invited a family over for the duration of the Holiday." She said. Her eyes watched Scorpius carefully. Scorpius leaned back in the uncomfortable wire chair and decided that someday he would find a way to thank his grandmother for everything.

"How many children do they have? What is their name?" He had no doubt that they would be pureblood and that if there was a girl in the mix then his marriage negotiations had already started. Scorpius wasn't upset—his marriage negotiations had to begin at some point and as a fifteen year old he was surprised that it had taken this long to begin the talks.

Their tea arrived. Narcissa and Scorpius both took a sip. It was fragrant and bitter with a rose-like aftertaste.

"The father is Armistice Meliflua. He is the grandson of Araminta Meliflua who was the cousin to my aunt Walburga Black. He and his wife have a son, Pullox, and a daughter who is about your age, Rosemary. Both of the children attend Durmstrang. Draco and Armistice work together in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Narcissa finished and took another sip from her tea cup. Scorpius felt a rush of gratitude to his grandmother. If it weren't for her he knew that he would be uninformed of most of his life. He thought that after generations of parents and grandparents controlling the life of their children without informing the children, Narcissa had simply decided that this was foolish and that she, though she could not change things, could inform her grandson.

"Well, it will be nice to meet the family that father holds so close to his heart." Scorpius said taking another sip of his tea.

"Yes. Now, tell me about your studies and your friends and what is this that you tell me about the young Potter boy entrenching himself in your life?" Scorpius sighed and started telling his grandmother about the rest of his life. It seemed he couldn't escape from Albus if only for an hour.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Albus loved Quidditch. It was the only time that he was able to narrow his focus to one task. His only concern should be to see his opponent's movements and thwart everything they attempted. It wasn't difficult but it wasn't easy. It was something that he could only just do and Albus found the feeling addicting.

He was good at the game also. Hadn't been scored on in three years and counting. It was something that his teammates could boast of and Albus thought it was perhaps his only achievement that he truly relished. Grades and popularity could be bought and given but true athletic talent, was not so easily distributed.

And Scorpius Malfoy was disturbing it.

It wasn't surprising because Scorpius seemed to have a talent of disturbing Albus. It had been a month and a half of tireless effort and the boy hadn't initiated anything. Not a single conversation, not a joke, not even a single greeting.

Horrible.

Albus Potter had never felt so thoroughly rejected in his life.

And the most disturbing part, Albus knew, was that if it were anyone else Albus would have shrugged and left the attempted friendship without a care. But Scorpius was just so thoroughly intriguing.

Albus flipped and blocked the Quaffle thrown by the opponents. It was spectacularly dramatic and such a close-call. The Gryffindor crowd groaned having hoped that perhaps their team would be the ones to break Albus's run as the best Keeper at Hogwarts in quite some time.

"Albus, snap out of whatever funk you are in. Can't have them scoring now can we?" Christopher Nott said as he flashed by to catch the Quaffle from Albus. Albus didn't respond to his friend. Christopher knew what was disturbing Albus. Albus thought that as disturbing as he found Scorpius, Christopher probably hated Scorpius a comparable amount. Someday, Albus knew, he would have to convince Christopher to respect if not admire Scorpius. Because as much as Christopher was Albus's friend it was not as if they were equal.

Floating defensively over the pitch, Albus thought that Scorpius was the closest to being an equal that Albus had ever encountered. It was the only way he could explain finding the smaller boy so intriguing.

Albus scanned the stands again.

Every student in Hogwarts seemed to be there except for the one who could disturb Albus. Which Albus supposed was good as he needed to be undisturbed. It just didn't help that now the absence as well as the presence of Scorpius Malfoy served just as well to disturb Albus now.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Scorpius, you have to come. It was a spectacular game even if you weren't there for it and we have to show Albus our support." Rose Weasley said. Lorcan nodded heavily clearly agreeing with his girlfriend. Lysander alternating between nodding and looking out the window at the moon.

Scorpius scowled.

"I don't have to come. I can choose to go or not to go. There is no obligation."

"Oh, aren't you clever." Rose said. She sounded upset but she was smiling. When Scorpius had first met Rose because of Lorcan he had been confused by the girl's ability to seem to feel two completely different ways. Overtime he had adjusted and he knew that she was not angry with him.

"You should come then. Everyone is going and you shouldn't spend all your time rereading that old wandlore book."

Scorpius sneered and decided to change into clothes that weren't party clothes but they weren't formal they were just clothes. Scorpius tried to look precisely like he wasn't trying to look dressed for any sort of special occasion.

"That old book, as you say, is entirely interesting. You should read it."

Rose ignored him. And instead decided to delightedly talk to Lorcan about who all was supposed to be at the Slytherin party. It didn't take long for the group to set out with Rose and Lorcan walking together and Lysander walking closely and then quite some distance from Scorpius.

Scorpius stared at the paintings watching the student s go. He knew that he would see Albus tonight. After spending entirely too much time thinking about the other boy and nearly half of his tea with Narcissa speaking and speculating about Albus, Scorpius was not sure he could deal with the actual living being.

"You know, you have just as much control of the situation as he does. You really should remember that." Lysander said. Scorpius flinched and looked at his friend. The twin was dreamy look and seemed to be pretending to be some sort of bird. It wasn't like Scorpius had told his friends anything directly about how he felt about Albus but Lysander, it seemed, was extremely perceptive for all that he was a childlike.

Scorpius grunted in response to Lysander.

The party was raging by the time the four Ravenclaws arrived. It was nominally a party for the celebration of the Slytherin victory but it was really an excuse for all the fifth, sixth, and seventh years to get together and drink on the weekends. Scorpius was caught between loving the vibrant and depraved nature of the party and wanting to immediately leave to go read a good book.

"Oh there you all are." Blanche strode up to them, Louis Weasley and James Potter trailing behind him. Blanche couldn't quite focus his eyes on his friends but he was standing and walking like he was completely sober. "Here, this will be a good starting drink." He lazily summoned over some Butterbeers.

Scorpius took a sip of his. It was stronger stuff than that served in Hogsmeade. It burned his throat a bit and Scorpius decided that he liked the experience. He took another long swig.

Louis and James had caught up with Blanche. It was clear that the two relatives were tense and in some sort of disagreement with each other. Scorpius knew that Blanche wouldn't much care—his friend was horrible at empathy.

"Scorpius!" It was precisely the person that Scorpius did not want to see. Remembering Lysander's words, Scorpius turned and smiled at Albus. The other man had an attractive and simpering blonde hanging off of his arm.

"Albus." He said as some sort of reply. He didn't sound nearly as excited but apparently his smile and his greeting was enough to make Albus pause and forget whatever the boy had planned for saying next. Scorpius stopped smiling but felt reassured. He could throw Albus off balance it seemed.

"I did not think you would come. You weren't even at the Quidditch game earlier."

"I heard you played well though." And with that Rose and Lorcan and Lysander all rushed over to speak to Albus. Albus didn't introduce the blonde on his arm, instead he just talked and laughed and greeted any other newcomers. Scorpius watched them all interact, drinking his butterbeer far more quickly than he knew he should. He summoned over another and began drinking.

"You planning on remembering any of this night?" Albus asked. Scorpius sneered and drank more of his butterbeer.

"I'm meeting my future wife over Holiday break." Scorpius said. Lysander had wandered off to play some sort of card game and Rose and Lorcan had joined the throng of dancing teenagers. Part of him knew he shouldn't be confessing things he wouldn't tell his closest friends to Albus Potter. But he was well on his way to getting sloshed and Albus was there and listening.

"Well, what should I buy for the happy wedding?" Albus asked. Scorpius glared at the other boy. Albus laughed and said, "You know, you don't have to marry the girl if you don't want to. You could do something else."

"Like what?" Scorpius muttered. But, Albus wasn't paying much attention by that point. The attractive blonde girl had decided she didn't like being ignored and so she swing herself to sit directly on Albus's lap and leaned forward and with a smile started kissing the other boy. Scorpius watched as Albus's hands drifted up along the girl's sides and as the other man leaned forward to kiss the forward blonde.

He turned away, sick.

And that, Scorpius thought, is precisely what I should expect and what I knew I would get for sharing any part of myself. A bitter and resentful taste crept up his mouth and this time he took another drink from his butterbeer to chase away that taste.

"You should go meet me in my room upstairs. I'll be up in a bit." Scorpius heard Albus say to the pretty blonde. The girl giggled and with a final exploring kiss, got up and winked as she walked upstairs.

Albus turned back to Scorpius and exhaled. It could have been a sigh but it was more importantly an exhale before it was a sigh.

"You get good enough at Quidditch and all the pretty blondes want you." He said with a chuckle. Scorpius considered smashing his butterbeer bottle and using one of the fragmented bits to carve out the other man's eye. Albus seemed to notice that Scorpius wasn't much paying attention because he grabbed the smaller man's chin and made Scorpius look at him. "You're a pretty blonde."

Scorpius decided that carving out the other's man eyes would be merciful.

He blushed which he told himself could be mistaken for anger and snarled, "Yes, but I've never even wanted your friendship." It wasn't a lie, he told himself, because at that moment the only thing he wanted from Albus was for the other man to go back to forgetting him.

Albus chuckled but let go of Scorpius's chin.

"That's true. But, I do want something from you." Scorpius ignored the pulse of heat that simple phrase sent to his groin and continued listening, "I think that you are entirely too interesting. You are smarter than me but less ambitious. I have more ambition and enough intelligence to keep up with you. I think we should join forces. And do something great."

"Like what?" Scorpius said. He wasn't able to stare anywhere but directly at Albus now even without the man holding his chin.

"I want to create wands more powerful than the Elder Wand. And then I want to use that power to really become someone in the world. Someone that the world has to listen to. And I think that I can't do it alone. But, I think I could do it with you."

Scorpius grunted and pretended he wasn't entranced by the idea. He knew though that Albus could see through it when he smirked and said, "Think about it. It would be far more interesting than marrying some dreary girl you barely know to have one male heir to carry on the immortal Malfoy line." Albus stood and patted Scorpius on the shoulder and walked away, up to join the attractive blonde girl.

Scorpius watched him leave, finished his drink, and then went to join his friends on the dance floor.

It wasn't until the next morning when he woke with a splitting hang over that he started to really think about what Albus had said.

* * *

><p>Hope it was all enjoyable and such. I'm thank my one reviewer ( Craziibuniiz ) and I'm assuming that you great silent bunch are enjoying the fic. :)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

Enjoy:)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

Albus didn't know when he had learned that his father was a Hero. In all his memories his father had told the stories as if Harry and Ginny and all of Albus's relatives were all heroes. Lowercase and indicating a sort of commonplace hero-ness that could be easily achieved and glorified at parties. But, Albus could never pinpoint when he had realized that his father was a Hero. Uppercase and indicating the ability to do things that most people would barely even think about.

It was shocking to think about in a way. His father, a man who preferred his toast slightly burnt and always asked for red socks for Christmas, was considered by many to be the savior of the Wizarding World.

His father's power rarely exhibited itself.

Once when he was thirteen Albus had visited home with his brother and sister for Christmas. Everything had been going rather well. By then Albus and his siblings had learned to go to bed when Ginny started her third glass of wine—the first and second glass were lingered over but after the third his mother always seemed to make it a goal to finish the bottle herself.

The children had excused themselves to bed and Albus had stared at his ceiling for what felt like hours. He had heard his mother stumbling around below them and she had finally gone to bed. But his father did not go to bed and Albus, unable to sleep, tried to go find his father.

Harry was in the backyard crushing trees.

Albus had stood in the doorway between the living room and the back yard transfixed as his father quickly conjured seeds and grew trees to a full mature size and then crushed them under the pressure of his magic into perfect cubes. He did not know how long he stood there watching his father but eventually Harry noticed his son.

"Ah, Albus." He'd said. "Sometimes, when I get angry, my magic builds upon itself. This is one way of controlling it. After all, I can't crush anything else."

Albus had glanced at the cubes and suddenly he saw them not as compacted trees but as the crushed cubes of James and Lily and Ginny. He felt for a moment that he was waiting his turn to be crushed by his father's unimaginable power. Albus shook his head and saw that he was back in reality. He looked at his father.

"Dad. You should go to bed." Albus had said. He was terrified and it showed in the tremor of his speech.

"You know, sometimes I feel like I did something horribly wrong." Harry had walked to his son and forced the boy to look into his eyes, the elder man's fingers holding his son's chin. Albus had stood there terrified. He could see, he could swear he could see, his father's magic full of dark oranges, reds, yellows, and purples swirling behind Harry.

"Dad." Albus had said. It was almost a whimper but it sounded like a question.

"You look quite a lot like me, not a bit like your mother. James and Lily, they have both me and her in their powers and personalities. But, not you. You are far too much like me. But also like him. Always like him." Harry had considered his son and Albus wondered if his father thought this was some sort of dream.

And then his father had stepped past him and Albus listened as Harry went to the parent's bedroom. Stepping and stumbling forward, Albus had grabbed one of the perfect wooden cubes and stumbled back up to his room. He had shoved the cube under his bed and resolved to sleep.

The next morning his father had surprised them all with a full breakfast. Albus had sipped his hot chocolate and decided, upon looking at his father's face, that either his father had no memory of the night before or he had decided to not acknowledge it. The only thing that kept Albus from thinking that he had imagined it all was the perfect little wooden cube he had shoved under his bed.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"She's not necessarily dreary. I don't even know her yet. More importantly, you are an idiot." Scorpius said. Albus looked up at the other man and wished he hadn't slammed his books on the library table. At least he hadn't screamed but instead half-whispered his defense of some stupid girl and his petulant insult, Albus thought.

"Why am I an idiot?" Albus said. He was cradling his head and really not in the mood to explore the reasons behind why the smaller man thought that he was an idiot.

"A multitude of reasons. Most of which you aren't aware of." Scorpius said. He sat across from Albus glaring.

It was then that Albus realized that this was the first time Scorpius had ever sought Albus out and that it must have something to do with the party that had taken place the night before.

"Do you even remember what you said to me last night?" Scorpius was sneering, glaring, and nearly spitting with anger. Albus wondered if this was Scorpius actually being angry with him. And then he wondered what precisely he had done to incur such anger.

"No." Albus groaned. He rolled his head back into his hands. "Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry. I was quite drunk. Also, I really need to finish this paper for Potions so if you cease your anger at me and decide to help me, I would be grateful."

Scorpius didn't speak for a couple minutes. Albus enjoyed the relative silence of the library. There were other students in the library who Albus could feel staring at the two men. Albus wished he hadn't left his bed this morning. The blonde woman he had spent the night with would have certainly been up for another round and then Albus could have avoided the angry blonde man sitting across from him.

"You brought up the Elder Wand. And us working together to create wands more powerful than the Elder Wand."

Albus whipped his head up to stare at Scorpius.

Shit.

"I hadn't meant to tell you that until I had better formulated a proposal." And, Albus thought, I don't understand why it makes you angry. He also didn't understand why he had told Scorpius that he wanted wands. He'd really only wanted one wand. Planned out by Scorpius, created by Albus, and then used to quietly change the Wizarding World. But, without letting Scorpius know what he was planning.

It wasn't supposed to be a partnership. Maybe some form of the plan but the actual thought—what Albus had wanted to do, Scorpius was nothing but a very intelligent cog in the system. Not a fellow manipulator of the system.

"Why did you think I would agree?" Scorpius said. It wasn't an angry statement. It was a quiet inquiry.

"Because you are bored and you are intelligent. Making a wand is complex and would be a break from the idiotic tedium at Hogwarts."

Scorpius started glaring again.

"There are plenty of bored and intelligent people at Hogwarts. Why me?" Albus wanted to groan and tell the other boy that in fact there weren't that many intelligent people at Hogwarts and if there were then every student would be bored and playing around with wand lore and plots to change the world. So, he decided to go with a simpler explanation.

"Because I like you."

Scorpius stared at Albus. Albus held the stare for a while and then went back to holding his head in his hands.

They sat in silence for a while and Albus wondered if he'd said something wrong. He didn't much care. But at the same time he was telling himself he didn't much care, he sat in anticipation of Scorpius's inevitable response.

"You really need to learn this spell." Scorpius said. And with a whisper of magic, Albus no longer had his headache.

"Thanks." He said.

"And you wanted to work on Potions?" Albus nodded. He was no longer cradling his head but instead watching Scorpius. The other boy was pulling out his parchment and potions book. Albus smiled and said that yes he was planning on working on Potions.

Maybe he hadn't messed up. Scorpius would think about it. And then probably accuse Albus of being an idiot again. But, he would think about it. And, Albus thought, it wouldn't be too horrible to have some sort of partnership with the man sitting across from him.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Scorpius sat by the lake. He wondered how many stones he could skip across the lake before the Giant Squid rose up and crushed him out of annoyance. Then he remembered that the Great Squid was actually by and large kind to students and it was unlikely he would be crushed.

Maybe he could coerce the Giant Squid into crushing Albus.

The first thing on his mind about Albus' idea should not be that he would be spending more time with Albus than any other student.

He should be thinking about the massive amount of ambition the other boy had exhibited.

It was such a large and undetermined goal. It was terrifying.

He was bored. He was terribly bored and already interested in wand lore. If Albus already knew these things about him, how much more would he know him if the two spent time together?

What if Albus knew? What if he knew that Scorpius was attracted to him?

With such ambition, there was certainly cruelty in Albus's personality.

Scorpius skipped a stone. He watched it go out across the lake.

But he was so bored. And it was a perfect opportunity to explore the actuality of wand lore. And Scorpius would never have time to explore wand lore when he was grown and had a son and was married to Rosemary and working forty hours a week in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement while attending far too many social functions. That, he knew, was the life his family had planned for him. It was the life that had always been planned for him.

And it left Scorpius feeling horribly sick.

Scorpius skipped a stone.

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><p>Alright! That's Chapter 5! Reviews Please :)<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

I'm not sure how regularly this will be updated but we shall see.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Halfway through the ride back to Hogwarts after Christmas, Scorpius went found Albus. The other boy was in the last car sitting alone in a seat that allowed him to stare opposite of the direction of the motion of the Hogwarts Express.

"Hello. How was your break?" Scorpius asked, sitting down across from Albus and leaning up against the window.

"I'm staring lifelessly out a window in the back of the train, having driven away anyone who has approached me as of yet." Albus said flatly.

"Yes, that does answer the question what are you doing and perhaps have been doing for the beginning part of the ride. It does not, however, answer my question." Scorpius said. He smiled. Albus stared at Scorpius and then sneered.

In some ways, smiling fit Scorpius far more than it fit Albus. And sneering suited Albus far more than Scorpius.

They sat in silence for a bit.

"You know, I always figured that my parents would eventually end up divorced. But, I think they are happy being miserable with each other." Albus finally said.

"Marriage." Scorpius responded. Now he sneered and it was a fantastic sneer. And Albus smiled and laughed and asked how meeting his future bride had gone.

"She's a smart conversationalist, depressingly uncontroversial, and has spent plenty of time in front a mirror learning the proper expressions to make at the proper moments. The wife the family ordered for me." Scorpius said.

"Sounds charming."

"More importantly, you should look through this and tell me what you think." Scorpius said, tossing his annotated wand lore book over to Albus. It wasn't his personal copy—but he had bought another and had a house elf copy over his annotations for Albus to read.

"What's this?" Albus asked. He was still smiling.

"If we're going to create two extremely powerful wands and change the world—we should probably start soon."

It was a companionable near silence for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts with Albus reading and sometimes briefly conversing about the beginning points of wand lore with Scorpius.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Scorpius has only been alone with Lucius once. It was the summer before his fourth year and a house elf had appeared with a formal invitation to have tea with his grandfather that afternoon. After spending a minute staring slack jawed at the invitation, the house elf had quietly coughed and asked if Scorpius would be replying.

"Tell Grandfather that I will be delighted to join him."

Scorpius then spent the next hour alternating between ranting violently to his fireplace and staring at the invitation. However, by the afternoon tea time, Scorpius was properly dressed and perfectly composed and arrived to the correct room at the precisely correct time.

His grandfather was not there and did not arrive until five minutes after the appointed time.

"Scorpius. You look as healthy as ever." The old man said. Scorpius smiled in a charming sort of way and rose to shake hands with Lucius.

"Grandfather. I think you look younger every time I see you." It was a lie. Lucius had not changed appearance in Scorpius's life. That is, except for his eyes; his eyes sunk deeper into his face with every year and the film of cataracts slowly but surely began to cover both eyes.

They did not continue with pleasantries because neither found pleasantries to be useful. Rather they observed the portraits on the walls quietly while a house elf sat out a proper tea.

"You may be the first proper Malfoy in quite some time. I was far too caught up in the schemes of others. Your father could only lie to himself and never to others."

Scorpius took a sip of tea.

"Grandfather, don't say 'was' as if you two have already passed on." Lucius caught his grandson's eyes with his own cloudy ones.

"Aren't we though. We have learned from our own folly—through our guidance you will restore the Malfoy name. "

They then sat silently drinking tea and staring at portraits and considering their thoughts.

And when Lucius decided to leave, he stood and stared down at Scorpius. Scorpius looked up at his grandfather and the man said, "Don't disappoint, Boy."

After Lucius was gone, Scorpius called the house elf and told the thing to bring him all the same patterned tea sets. When all the sets were located, Scorpius lazily began charming each piece of the set to crash into the wall he sat across from. After each piece of every set was destroyed—except for one—Scorpius took his final sip of now cold tea from the last tea cup.

He considered the tea cup for a minute, calmly stood, wiped his hands on his trousers and then picked the final tea cup up and then hurled it against the wall. It shattered and fell to the ground.

Scorpius left the room.

When back in his room, he summoned a house elf and asked it to please purchase a tea set of the same pattern as the ones he had just destroyed. It was there within an hour and Scorpius carefully set up the tea set in the corner of his room as if it were to be ready to use at any moment. That night he did not sleep but stared at the tea set and memorized the pattern that now would only be a reminder that he had already lost all freedom and someday more would be expected.

The tea set is still there, same as the day Scorpius arranged it, with a fine layer of dust sitting prettily on its surface.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

By the middle of March no one in the school took notice any longer Albus and Scorpius spending anytime together. People had of course gossiped about the formation of the friendship during the fall. There was a bit of outright shock in the Herbology Class at how well the two got on during class after the break. In Potions, both Christopher Nott and Lucy Weasley felt slightly abandoned as it seemed Albus and Scorpius were far more willing to confer with each other about assignments rather than their actual Potions partner. The two frequented the libraries together and were seen frequently in hot debate but as to the topics and directions of their conversations no one was entirely sure. Those that did overhear were confused by the complexities in the conversation that they weren't quite sure what sort of debate the two were having.

But the Hogwarts community, after being so intrigued, finally concluded that there was nothing but a growing academic friendship between the two seemingly different men. This suited Scorpius and Albus' now joint ambitions perfectly.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"How did your interview go?" Scorpius asked, looking up from his book. Albus wished he didn't immediately notice the way the other man's hair fell attractively in front of his eyes and he wished he wasn't so focused on how Scorpius had a habit of biting his bottom lip after asking a question. He was well aware of the fact that he was finding the smaller man increasingly more attractive but that didn't mean he would like it. After all, it was one thing to be joint partners trying to change the world. But if he tried to make it some sort of romantic relationship—well Albus didn't want that. Not really, he thought to himself, I can't really want that. It would be too close to how one was supposed to love another. And Albus didn't really want to fall in love. He knew what the feeling had done to his parents.

"Fantastic." Albus replied. He shoved his thoughts aside. "I have no doubt that the Minister's Office will be hiring me as the summer assistant to the assistant of the assistant of the Minister of Magic." It was a ridiculous position. But, if he was going to get into politics he would have to start now.

"You know, this most recent book I was reading was saying that powerful wizards will occasionally see magic as shades of colors and that a powerful wand maker will always see magic that way. Think I'll develop the talent?" Scorpius asked. Scorpius had already secured his position as a summer apprentice at Ollivanders Wand Shop. His father had been surprised by the idea but had encouraged it by not refusing his son. Scorpius liked to think that there was a satisfaction in the way his father had signed that letter—that his father was happy that Scorpius was following a path that was perhaps his own.

"Really? I've seen my fathers. His was a dark orange, red, yellow, and purple swirl. Weird, right?" Scorpius nodded—he was not surprised that Albus could see magic untrained. Scorpius could swear that occasionally he could and Albus was as if not more powerful than Scorpius.

"Well, most wizards have two maybe three colors. It is not surprising that with his power your father has four and that the magic presents itself as a swirl." The interesting part, Scorpius thought, was that Harry had dark orange as a color and that Albus had emphasized the dark as a description of the orange. The shade of the color was important his book told him.

Scorpius looked up to see Albus staring at him. The other boys face was very serious and very tense. Scorpius felt like a rabbit staring at its killer and he felt that this was a clichéd way to feel. Forcing himself past this thought he wondered what colors Albus would have. Chuckling to himself, Scorpius said, "You, I think, would definitely have a deep river of green—maybe even emerald running in your magic. Ambition is certainly part of you."

Albus relaxed and smiled.

* * *

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